Capacity Development

One of the current trends or drivers in the shift we are experiencing in education is around the concept of the new economy shifting from products to people and what they know, more specifically human capital. (see: Ten Trends: Educating Children for Tomorrow's World- Trend 3)

Capacity development reclaims the importance of people, rather than products. In a 21st Century world,  where globalization drives the economy and what we can create becomes as important as what we know, helping children to realize their full potential- beyond being an industrial worker, will mean providing a wider range of learning options for our students.

Building capacity is all about:

• a shift from compartmentalized courses or streams of thought to integrated units of study that have more meaning and purpose in terms of educating the whole child and valuing the experiential base teachers bring with them to the classroom.
  
• taking a proactive and positive approach to learning- with teachers (in their professional development offerings) and students (in their self-directed learning aspirations in the classroom).
• establishing balance and seamless integration in individual's lives between work, learning, and knowing.
• recognizing and celebrating all learner expertise in the classroom and school as being of value and a legitimate part of the core curriculum.
• commitment to the idea of self-directed, organic learning by both the learner and those creating the environments that support the learning.
• passion - in becoming confident, connected, learners (or learning ecologies/communities in terms of classrooms) whose sense of wonderment serves as the catalyst to mastery of wisdom and success in both work and home.

I love this quote from Konrad Glogowski

I wanted to show that teachers need to redefine themselves as individuals and not automatons that focus on outcomes and expectations. I am passionate about human rights. I spend a lot of my own time reading about human rights and human rights abuses around the world. What I do in my classroom, how I do it, and who I am as a teacher is based to a large extent on my passion for social justice.

Want to see a beautiful example of this in action?  Thanks to Erin Ells a member of the Western New York Powerful Learning Practice community I was pointed to this excellent description from Anthony Chivetta who recently experienced his teacher's passion first hand.

Rather than have 6 classes per day, rather than divide learning into 45 minute blocks, we opened the schedule and challenged teachers to engage students in their passion.

Mini-terms were taught by teams of two or three teachers. These teachers were encouraged to teach their passion and were free to design their courses around topics of their choosing, with an emphasis on cross-departmental work. The only guidelines for teachers were broad such as a required reading and writing component. The classes ranged from 18 to 25 students each from all four grade levels and met all day, every day for a four-day week. Students selected their top 6 choices, and were sorted into classes accordingly. Teachers were encouraged to take field trips, and engage in hands on projects.

The student goes on to describe his personal experience in the “Zen and the Art of Furniture Design”, it was taught my his science teacher (Mr. Skinner) who has an independent passion for carpentry and an art teacher (Mr. Huber) with years of experience in scenic design and construction.

I will be posting a lot about this idea in the coming weeks. In the meantime, brainstorm with me. What is building capacity in children or their teachers all about for you? How do you do it? How would you want it  done with you? What does capacity building look like in your classroom and in your home with your own children?

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/beija-flor/1401317415/

Comments

[Charlie A. Roy]

@Sheryl
Another great post! I think part of the power of passion is that young people are very adept at assessing one's level of authenticity. Give them a teacher with a passion for learning and a love of their subject matter and the students will respect their commitment and go along. Give them a teacher who is killing time before collecting their government funded pension and you've created a situation where very little learning will take place.

Passion + Vision +Engagement (Technology) = Education

[Angela]

With my own children, capacity building begins with their passions and their curiosities, and as they move into their learning (about anything from learning how to use the washer for the first time to blogging to starting a garden)...the "skills" are something they demand instruction around because they need them in order to be successful. In classrooms, I think that we usually begin with required content. Then we address skills, and then we go right toward strategies for engagement. I wonder what would happen if we began by allowing kids to define their passions first and gave them some license to define their own pathways a bit more......

[Carolyn Foote]

Sheryl,

I think it starts with respect for students and teachers as learners.

By respect I mean, we have to respect that they already carry certain knowledge and experiences that may be different from ours, but are still of value.

I think too often we don't start at that place. We respect our own knowledge/skills over those of others, and don't consider it a blended approach that matches both of our knowledge and abilities together.

I love Konrad's quote too because it reflects his willingness to share his own passions with his students and allow them to "know" him a little more. I feel this makes for a more respectful learning community--when students and teachers feel more of a personal and individual connection.

I just blogged about a recent experience with my nephews and their childhood learning in relation to a book I'm reading, The Passionate Learner, which has some fascinating ideas about how to re-connect with student passion.

Thanks for the thought provoking questions :)

[Stephen Joyce]

I think all collaboration relies heavily on the will of those involved. People can be 'clever-enough' (IQ) to know it’s good for everyone in the long run. They can also have enough EQ - Emotional Intelligence to know how to manage their on-to-one relationship, however if they don't have enough CQ - Collaborative Intelligence there is a distinct limit to what can be achieved. Developing collaborative intelligence (CQ) is about developing our ability to work together. Whether it is a business team or a community or even nations, creating new way to increase our collaborative capacity will make life easier for everyone.

For example the videos of groups of people singing the national anthems of other nations makes a great point about building bridges. How can we build bridges in the workplace? What sort of ‘grand gestures’ can we provide to others to show our intent on cooperation and collaboration?

'Pangeaday' is an event that will focus the world’s attention on what people can create together.

[Fernando Ortega]

Internet is a powerful tool in our lives but also could be a terrible enemy. We have to be responsibile in the way that we , our children and students are using it. Rethink the social implications that information on the web are causing in the view that we have now about the world. the strategies that school is using (trying to protect their students) to me seems that we don't have identity anymore, living with fear because always something bad can happen.

[Fernando Ortega]

Internet is a powerful tool in our lives but also could be a terrible enemy. We have to be responsibile in the way that we , our children and students are using it. Rethink the social implications that information on the web are causing in the view that we have now about the world. the strategies that school is using (trying to protect their students) to me seems that we don't have identity anymore, living with fear because always something bad can happen.

[Always a teacher...]

Teachers continue to need outstanding, meaningful professional development activities to enhance their skills as well as help them to make connections with other educators in their fields. There is nothing more important than a mentor and a support system. Quality, relevant professional development activities are so important. To that end, the Educator Edge website was created to help educators find the professional development activities they need. Providers of educational professional development (workshops, courses, online courses, seminars, conferences, etc.) are encouraged to add their free listings.

Check it out at www.EducatorEdge.org

Monetary Awards are available to assist educators; application forms are on the website.